Shuttles on Thailand &Vietnam cruise?

[marcsgran]

There was no free shuttle to Hoi An in Feb 13. I think there was a low priced excursion, sort of a Hoi An on your own. Most tours to Hoi An do stop for photos at China Beach and marble shops at Marble Mtn. Our private tour gave us time to actually go up to the temples, monastery and caves on Marble Mtn....very interesting and beautiful.

 

Hi sanatee which guide did you use for your hoi an trip

[nathanmayl@hotmail.com]

We are booked on the Journey for the Dec 9 2013 Hong Kong to Singapore cruise. We would like to book a more extensive private day in Halong Bay, but cannot find one that does not include an overnight. Has anyone used a private boat in the Bay for a 6 hr trip?? We could not find info on what the boat is like that is used by Azamara for its 4 hr. trip??

 

We have private guides for all stops except Ho Chi Min City. They seem to be booked. Has anyone a contact there??

Look forward to seeing you on the cruise.

Doc Nate

[marcsgran]

Hi I got contact details on trip adviser for mrs Cham of halong sapa tours. She gets good reviews there

 

Ara

[Sanatee]

Hi sanatee which guide did you use for your hoi an trip

 

We joined 2 other couples with Ann Tours (google them); our contact was Tony. They were excellent and Hoi An was beautiful.

[marcsgran]

Thanks for that info. I've emailed them for details.

 

Ara

[shintaro]

We are booked on the Journey Jan 6th 2014 15 night Thailand and Vietnam cruise. My husband and I don't usually book tours as we love exploring independantly and just walking off the ship and making our own way around. My question is.... Has anyone done this cruise, or similar and if so, do the shuttles take you right into town where the action is or would we, in this case, need to book tours.

 

We will be visiting Singapore, Ko Samui, Klong Toey (Bangkok), Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang (Hue, Hoi An), Halong Bay (Hanoi), Hong Kong.

 

If anyone has any recommendations for any of these ports I would love to hear from you as we are travelling with two friends who have never travelled with Azamara and I have been nominated as Cruise Director! I would hate to mess things up and be stranded on a dock miles from anywhere!

 

 

Free Shuttles in Every port ie Bangkok, Saigon, Da Nang and Halong Bay no Tendering at all

 

Very efficient traffic in Bangkok only Problem :D

 

But ships staff and organisation was very very efficient

 

Enjoy

 

Shintaro

[2fromTO]

We are booked on the Journey for the Dec 9 2013 Hong Kong to Singapore cruise. We would like to book a more extensive private day in Halong Bay, but cannot find one that does not include an overnight. Has anyone used a private boat in the Bay for a 6 hr trip?? We could not find info on what the boat is like that is used by Azamara for its 4 hr. trip??

 

We have private guides for all stops except Ho Chi Min City. They seem to be booked. Has anyone a contact there??

Look forward to seeing you on the cruise.

Doc Nate

 

We are on the Feb 3 Singapore to HK cruise. We have chartered the WOW Premium for a full day (8:00 am to 4:00 pm) cruise on Halong Bay. Google WOW Cruises and you will find them.

 

In Siagon, we have chartered a boat through Saigon River Express for a full day tour on the Mekong Delta.

 

Both companies received good reviews on TripAdvisor.

[Sanatee]

Bill provided info on shuttles for the similar cruise last Feb. It's in this post: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=36404251&postcount=7

[Jem 12]

We are on the Feb 3 Singapore to HK cruise. We have chartered the WOW Premium for a full day (8:00 am to 4:00 pm) cruise on Halong Bay. Google WOW Cruises and you will find them.

 

In Siagon, we have chartered a boat through Saigon River Express for a full day tour on the Mekong Delta.

 

Both companies received good reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

 

Hi we used Paradise cruises for an all day Halong Bay cruise, however we thought we were paying for an all inclusive including lunch, as soon as we boarded they were opening bottles of wine but had failed to mention that they would be $30 per bottle.

 

We enjoyed our trip but I don't think we saw any more in 8 hours than you would see in 4, we spent a lot of time tied up to other boats for lunch and then some time on a fairly mediocre beach.

 

If I went again I would only do the 4 hours, people who had arranged this on the day at the tourist office paid approx $17 dollars as opposed to our $73 plus wine. Just get the Azamara shuttle into town and it is only a short walk to the boats, or give the shuttle driver a small tip and he will probably drive you there.

 

Make sure also that your guide can pick you up at the ship Paradise were waiting outside the gates of the port but you were not allowed to walk in the port, so that was additional hassle.

[shedridt]

I can't remember what we did the last time we booked a private tour on a cruise ship, & a local company is asking for my passport number. Is that usual?

 

A bit paranoid about divulging that sort of info if it's not needed....

[Sanatee]

I can't remember what we did the last time we booked a private tour on a cruise ship, & a local company is asking for my passport number. Is that usual?

 

A bit paranoid about divulging that sort of info if it's not needed....

 

It was common in Vietnam, especially for those coming into port to pick us up. We had no problems arising from giving them this info.

[Bottomshelfhockey]

Just back from cruise - Dec. 9 to 23.

 

Just a word of warning for those that have booked a private Da Nang tour and are planning to walk past the terminal gates to meet their guide/bus.

 

This information is first hand from a passenger who joined us on our Saigon tour.

 

I was told that the group was "hassled' by the taxi cab drivers that were hanging around outside the terminal gates looking for customers. As the group continued walking they were approached by uniformed police officers demanding 200,000 VND (approx. US $20) in order for them to continue past to meet the tour guide who was further down the road.

Isolated incident?

 

Makes you wonder why the tour guide wasn't closer to the gate.

 

The group stood their ground and did not pay and eventually the "police" left and the guide picked them up.

 

I don't know if the $20 was per person or for the whole group. The dollar amount is not significant but the hassle certainly isn't worth it. Unless you have very thick skin, in my opinion, pay the extra port fee.

 

For Saigon, if your ship docks next to the Saigon Port Authority building, it is a very short walk; less than 300 meters. Walk in and through the building and you're outside the terminal (less than 30 seconds through the building. I was able to negotiate a lower tour cost for our group because we walked outside the terminal gate to avoid port fees.

 

Unless you are familiar with Saigon, there are people who will take advantage of the fact that you are in a strange city.

Be wary of Saigon drivers telling you that the Market is closed and that they will take you to another one. One elderly couple on our cruise was left to fend for themselves after they were dropped off in an unknown location. They were not harmed.

 

Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings to All!

 

Regards,

 

Harry E.

[jollyjoyce]

Further to Harry's info about problems in Danang port.

I actually organised the tour Harry mentioned. It was agreed to meet the guide outside the gates. He was waiting outside the gates and told me to just keep walking as the bus was a little further along the road.

It was as we were walking that the police arrived! It was certainly not what I expected. We refused to pay them and were prepared to go back to the ship. The guide talked to the police and agreed to see them when we got back in the afternoon.

I do not know what transpired but that was their problem.

There were 11 of us and we did have a really good day, China Beach, Marble Mountains and Hoi An.

In case you are wondering, I got the name of the guide from a previous review on Tripadvisor...highly rated, and I spoke to him on Skype several times before arrival.

I have had emails from hmi since sincerely apologising and promising it will not happen to visitors again.

Personally I think in retrospect I should have agreed to pay the $20 port fees and be collected from the ship....we were dropped off at the ship on return.

I did actually report the incident when back onboard and they were

going to send a report to their port agents.